This invention relates to a third hand for a flashlight or the like, particularly for adjustably holding the flashlight in a selected one of a plurality of positions and orientations, relieving the hands.
Mechanics, installers, repairpersons and the like commonly have the need to apply portable lighting to their work and, particularly, to aim a beam of light, such as from a flashlight, on a particular portion of the work while the hands remain free to perform operations on the work or to hold tools. It is therefore often desired to adjustably and temporarily fix the flashlight or other light source in space at a particular location and orientation. However, the light must be attached to or rest upon something if it is not held by the worker's hand, and it is not generally the case that the work or site has a specialized provision for this purpose.
A common but inconvenient solution to this problem is for the worker to hold the butt of the flashlight in his or her mouth. A variation on this concept is exemplified by Sedlock, U.S. Pat. No. 3,418,461, wherein a bracket is provided on the flashlight having a mouthpiece for clenching between the user's teeth.
Bacevius, U.S. Pat. No. 4,399,498, provides a clamp housing, one end of which is adapted to receive a flashlight or lantern and the other end of which defines a clamping jaw, and a complementary movable jaw biased with a spring means. The span opening or distance between the gripping jaws can be adjusted for clamping onto surfaces having variable cross sectional shapes. While it is asserted that a wide range of jaw opening is provided, the range of suitable supports remains limited. Moreover, angular adjustment of the direction of the light is also limited in range as well as being limited to one axis.
Thul, U.S. Pat. No. 4,897,768, provides an arcuate track that is mountable with suction cups to a supporting surface. A flashlight is strapped to the track at a selected location and, therefore, inclination. A drawback of the device is that varying the inclination requires two hands for manipulating the strap. Another drawback is that, without removing the suction cups from the support surface, the inclination is adjustable only about one axis. Yet another drawback is that a support surface sufficiently flat and large to receive widely spaced-apart suction cups is required. Van Gennep, U.S. Pat. No. 5,573,329, provides a clamping pliers carrying a ball and socket joint for a flashlight holder. A disadvantage of clamping pliers is that they are generally limited to clamping onto objects that can be gripped with a relatively small jaw opening, and may cause damage to some of objects, particularly if misadjusted.
King, U.S. Pat. No. 3,325,639, provides a base for a high-intensity light. The base includes a suction cup having a magnet secured therein, providing a choice between magnetic and suction mounting. A ball and socket joint is proposed for connecting a pivoting arm of the light to the base. While providing additional flexibility in mounting and movement, the device requires a surface suitable for receiving the magnet or the suction cup, as there are no alternative provisions for supporting the light.
Accordingly, there is a need for a third hand for a flashlight that provides for attachment to, or stabilization upon, a wide variety and range of support objects and surfaces, and provides a wide range of positional and directional adjustability obtained with a minimum of repositioning.